SAAS UPDATE - February 6, 2009
Greetings!
Wow, it's already February! We have a new President, new Congress, the beginnings of a new administration, new budget headaches and new opportunities to provide the essential services that our communities need. SAAS is committed to helping our State Associations do the best job possible in supporting their members through rough waters. We will be compiling state budget information as part of our efforts to increase federal funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery services. We are also working closely with other partners in our field to be as proactive as possible in the health care reform process, as it is essential that behavioral healthcare benefits be included and access to those services be addressed.
In other SAAS news, we have recently joined the Legal Action Center, together with CADCA and TASC-IL, to partner with Reckitt Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to expand the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) within the public treatment system and the criminal justice system. We are targeting 21 states that will benefit from increased advocacy and opportunities to educate policy makers and State Government Managers on the efficacy of medication-assisted treatment. The list includes MA, ME, VT, NY, NJ, PA, MD, OH, VA, NC, FL, GA, TN, TX, CO, MI, IN, IL, CA, WA and UT.
We look forward to reporting our progress on this new collaborative effort in future newsletters. Stay tuned! Thanks for all you do to support the field and the people you serve.
Becky Vaughn
Executive Director
State Associations of Addiction Services
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SAAS Express DrugCheck Instant Testing Program
The SAAS Express DrugCheck Instant Test Program provides your staff and counselors with quality instant UA testing devices at very competitive prices. If your State Association is formally part of the Program, a portion of each month's sales of DrugCheck Instant Tests to Association Members in your State will be rebated to your State Association and our central SAAS offices for corporate purposes. This is a wonderful Revenue Share Program we have had in place for the last three years.
For product information contact Megan Maddock [mmaddock@regtox.com] at STERLING Reference Laboratories. For information about the Revenue Share Program contact Evans Calas [ecalas@regtox.com] ecalas@regtox.com, or visit www.saasexpress.com [http://www.saasexpress.com]. Both Megan and Evans can also be reached at (800) 442-0438. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
National Advocacy Campaign's Newest Member
SAAS and the Legal Action Center (LAC) would like to extend thanks and a warm welcome to the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania for joining the National Advocacy Campaign as a new Founding 500 member. We welcome your support and look forward to working with you to dramatically improve policy for people with alcohol and drug histories so that millions more Americans are able to enjoy the benefits of recovery.
If you would like to join our advocacy efforts and become a member of the Campaign's Founding 500 by making a donation of $1,000 or more, or to make a donation of any amount, click here [http://lac.org/index.php/lac/nac_membership]. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Professional Development Opportunities
California Institute for Mental Health Announces IT Conference
The California Institute for Mental Health (CIMH) will host the Ninth Annual National Information Management Conference and Exposition: Addressing the Needs of Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drug Programs on April 22-23, 2009, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Anaheim, California. This is the longest-running and largest informatics conference in the United States for the behavioral health care field and promises to be an excellent conference regarding integrating information technology with substance abuse and mental health health services. Each year approximately 400 people attend and over 25 software vendors exhibit. The program features over 40 presenter experts who will address information management issues as they pertain to mental health, alcohol and drug programs. More information about the program, CEUs, and how to register can be found by clicking here [http://elearning.networkofcare.org/CiMH/EventOverview.asp?Id=171694].
SAMHSA and CDC Sponsor Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media
Good communication and marketing strategies can change our nation's mindset about health and well-being. To bring our best thinking forward, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is joining with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to sponsor the 2009 National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media, in Atlanta, Georgia, August 11-13. This professional forum provides you and your colleagues with an opportunity to showcase your innovative and practical solutions that inspire people to make good health choices and deal with behavioral health problems. SAMHSA's goal for co-sponsoring the conference is to increase the visibility and presence of mental health and substance abuse service delivery organizations, providers and advocates.
Conference participants will obtain a fuller understanding of the critical role mental health and substance abuse services play in advancing and protecting the nation's health, as well as interact with a broad spectrum of health communications and marketing leaders across public health, health care, academic and private sectors. Please visit the Conference website [http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/NCHCMM2009/] to learn more about registration and becoming a conference presenter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News From Around the Field
NIDA Study Shows Ritalin Causes Neuronal Changes in Brain Reward Areas
Investigators funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse have published a study in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that the medication methylphenidate (Ritalin), commonly prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), can cause physical changes in neurons in reward regions of mouse brains. In some cases, these effects overlapped with those of cocaine. While methylphenidate is widely prescribed, this study highlights the need for more research into its long-term effects on the brain.
"Studies to date suggest that prescribed use of methylphenidate in patients with ADHD does not increase their risk for subsequent addiction. However non-medical use of methylphenidate and other stimulant medications, can lead to addiction as well as a variety of other health consequences," said NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow. "This study highlights the fact that we know very little about how methylphenidate affects the structure of and communication between brain cells."
Dr.Yong Kim, lead author of the study, said "methylphenidate, which is thought to be a fairly innocuous compound, can have structural and biochemical effects in some regions of the brain that can be even greater than those of cocaine. Further studies are needed to determine the behavioral implications of these changes and to understand the mechanisms by which these drugs affect synapse formation."
For additional information on the study and other NIDA programs and research activities, click here [http://www.nida.nih.gov/newsroom/09/NR2-02.html].
Drug Free Communities Support Program Funds Now Available
The White House Office of National Drug Control (ONDCP), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announce the availability of new, Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program funds. ONDCP expects to award approximately $17 million (130 new grants) to community drug prevention coalitions throughout the United States.
The DFC support program is a collaborative Federal program sponsored by ONDCP, and administered in partnership with SAMHSA. The program aims to establish and strengthen communities to prevent, reduce, and eliminate youth substance use and abuse.
Ed Jurith, Acting Director of ONDCP stated, "Supporting the Drug Free Communities program is consistent with President Obama's priorities to aid community development and organizing across the nation. This program will keep young people safe and healthy by giving local leaders the resources they need to strengthen their community and keep children drug-free."
The deadline to submit DFC grantee applications is Friday, March 20, 2009. Applications for the Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program (No. SP-09-002) are available by calling SAMHSA's Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA7 or by visiting the SAMHSA [http://www.samhsa.gov/grants/2009/sp_09_002.aspx] website, where information about upcoming application workshops is also available. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About SAAS
The State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) is the leading national organization advocating on behalf of state associations of prevention, treatment, and recovery providers and the individuals and families they serve. For more information about SAAS programs and initiatives contact bvaughn@saasnet.org [bvaughn@saasnet.org].
